The one thing the Patriots would love more than anything this weekend is for the Giants to overlook injured tight end Rob Gronkowski. Unfortunately, that won't be the case.

Missing practice Monday and officially listed as questionable, Gronkowski appeared in front of reporters during Tuesday's Media Day sans walking boot. Not that that surprised Giants players in the least.

“This is the biggest game of the year,” Giants safety Antrel Rolle told reporters Monday. “(New England) wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for him (Gronkowski), so he’s going to do whatever he has to do to make sure he’s ready for this game, and we understand that.”

Gronkowski has continued his role as Tom Brady's main target in the postseason thus far, amasssing nearly double the yards (232) of any other Patriots receiver, including three touchdowns. He was tentative to state Tuesday that he was definitely a go for Sunday's game, but explained that each day is better than the one before it.

Steve Weatherford won the Jets' punting job in a 2010 training camp battle with T.J. Conley, but Conley took over the position in 2011.
Weatherford then became a Giant, going from a team that promised to go to the Super Bowl to a team that actually went to the Super Bowl.

"We knew him as an excellent athlete and have done our homework on Steve," Giants coach Tom Coughlin told the Super Bowl media Monday. "Obviously, he’s a guy who comes very well prepared, energetic, an exceptional weight room worker, and a good example for a conditioning guy to be honest with you."

"All you need to do is look outside my office window and there he is; Mondays, Tuesdays he’s out there running and doing extra conditioning."

Weatherford averaged 45.7 yards a punt in 2011, booting a long of 62 yards and pinning offenses inside their own 20-yard line 25 times.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Brandon Marshall took the NFL's All-Star game seriously. He played like an All-Star.

Marshall hauled in a Pro Bowl record four touchdowns Sunday as the AFC ousted the NFC, 59-41. The Dolphins wideout amassed 176 yards on six catches.

His highlight-reel performance was, well, highlighted by a third quarter scoring reception that saw Marshall fall on his back as two NFC defenders had a chance at the ball. The ball deflected off of Marshall's leg, and Marshall, already past the goal line, snatched it up.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

As a mass of New England faithful sent the Patriots off to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI around noon on Sunday, the AFC Champions prepared for their fifth Super Bowl appearance in a decade.

And, with the extra week between the conference championships and Super Bowl, most people would assume coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots are eating up the extra prep time heading into the game.

Patriots wide receiver and former Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch uses the extra time a different way, though.

"That's the most important thing about this game," he told the media on Friday. "There's so much down time. The Super Bowl should be the next week (after conference championships). Now we got to wait two weeks to play this game. I think that's for you all —the fans."

In honor of Fred Jackson's stellar first half of the 2011 season and the fact that he was ineligible for the Pro Bowl because of his injury, let's take a look at what could have been for the fifth-year Bills tailback.

Entering Week 11, Jackson was averaging 101.9 rushing yards a game, he had six touchdowns in the nine games and was gaining 43.6 yards a game via receptions.

Based on those numbers, here are Jackson's projections for the entire season had he played the last seven games:

Rushing yards: 1,630.Rushing TDs: 11.Receiving yards: 697.

While it's all speculation, and everyone misses time from at least the most minor injuries, those projected numbers would have put him atop the NFL in rushing yards, where he was before he got injured.

Friday, January 27, 2012

The Giants' defensive line trio of Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck will do whatever it takes to get to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in Indianapolis. Because, according to Pierre-Paul, the competition doesn’t stop with just trying to win a Super Bowl: it’s against each other, as well.

New York’s sack leader opened up to reporters Thursday about the competitiveness and enjoyment he and his teammates have with their roles, admitting that they joke around quite a bit in the locker room. But when the time comes, they’re all business.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Darrelle Revis has plenty of confidence in his game. He also has confidence in his quarterback.

“We’re very confident (in Mark Sanchez),” Revis told the NFL Network Thursday. “If you look at his career already through three years, his stats have (gone) up every year. In the first two years, he took us to the AFC Championship Game."

The best cornerback in the NFL is right about Sanchez's stats, something I did a post on earlier this month. Still, the third-year signal-caller made plenty of boneheaded errors in 2011.

"We have a lot of confidence in him," Revis said. "We just have to get the right guys around him and just build around the guy.”

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was listed on Wednesday's injury report as a Did Not Participate, didn't practice Thursday.

Gronkowski is still nursing an ankle injury he acquired in the Patriots' AFC Championship victory over the Ravens Sunday.

New England is playing it safe with Gronk, as he's way too important to the offense to bother risking further injury by rushing him back, especially since the Patriots don't line up in the Super Bowl against the Giants for a week and a half.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Giants punter Steve Weatherford might have been the most overlooked reason for the Giants' NFC Championship victory last Sunday.

Cue the Shake Weight.

Weatherford handled a low snap with ultimate poise in overtime, teeing up the ball for kicker Lawrence Tynes to boot through the uprights and send the G-Men to the Super Bowl, where they will take on the Patriots.

So how did the former Jets punter deal with the snap so well in such poor conditions?

Yep, you read the headline right.
Despite the Patriots and Giants being off from practice Wednesday, the teams were required by the NFL to release an injury report for their Super Bowl bout, which doesn't take place for a week and a half.

On that report was Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was listed as a player who "Did Not Participate." Also on the DNP list were Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, receiver Hakeem Nicks and safety Tyler Sash.

The Patriots aren't worried about offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien being distracted by his new gig at Penn State, at least according to coach Bill Belichick.

O'Brien (pictured) was named head coach of the Nittany Lions two weeks ago to fill the void left by the recently-deceased Joe Paterno, who was fired in November.

"Billy has continued to do in the last few weeks, everything -- since he's been named the head coach of Penn State, he's done everything that he's done this year and last year on a weekly basis," Belichick told the media via conference callTuesday. "He's had the same responsibilities; he's just worked very hard to try to manage the two situations.

"By far and away, the majority of his time and energy and effort have all been put into the New England Patriots. He's done his fulltime job here well and very diligently, just like he always has; there hasn't been any difference."

Monday, January 23, 2012

During the last two offseasons, Rex Ryan predicted a Super Bowl berth for his players.

He was sort of right.

Defensive end Shaun Ellis, who was the Jets' longest-tenured player (11 years) as of last season, will be playing in his first Super Bowl in two weeks. It will be with the Patriots.

Defensive back James Ihedigbo, who spent the first four years of his career with the Jets, will also be making a trip to the big dance with the Patriots.

Then there's multi-purpose back Danny Woodhead. The ex-Jet will play in the Super Bowl as a Patriot. And punter Steve Weatherford, who was let go by the Jets in 2011 and scooped up by the Giants, will also play in the Super Bowl.

Four years after one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the Patriots and Giants are at it again.

But this time around, there’s hardly a clear-cut favorite like there was back at the conclusion of the 2007 NFL season. In Super Bowl XLII, the Giants — 12-point underdogs to the then-undefeated Patriots — prevailed, 17-14.

Most Las Vegas betting lines opened up with New England as a 3-point favorite for this year’s Super Bowl (XLVI) after the Pats squeaked by the Ravens in the AFC Championship game, 23-20. The Giants outlasted the 49ers in overtime to capture the NFC title, priming two familiar foes up against each other once again.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Miami, which fired Tony Sparano this season, didn't hire interim coach Todd Bowles and lost the Jeff Fisher sweepstakes, finally settled on a team leader. He comes in the form of (former) Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin.

“Joe has all the attributes that we were looking for when we started this process," Dolphins Chairman Stephen Ross said, according to the Dolphins website. "Jeff Ireland and I felt Joe was the right choice to bring the Dolphins back to the success we enjoyed in the past. I know I join our fans in welcoming him as the newest member of the Dolphin family.”

Friday, January 20, 2012

Among the many factors that contributed to the Jets' train wreck of a season was the soap opera surrounding receiver Santonio Holmes. Holmes was benched in the fourth quarter of the team's season-ending loss to the Eagles after several verbal altercations with teammates.

Reports later surfaced that Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez hadn't been, to put it lightly, on the same page throughout most of the year, and it showed on the field.

Holmes and Sanchez seemed to hit it off in 2010, and Holmes even defended Sanchez's play at the beginning of December, so whatever went sour between the two must have started some time after that.

The Jets are confident their perceived rocky relationship can be mended.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wes Welker led the league in receptions (122) this season, and he's only 5-foot-9, 185 pounds. As far as the receiver position in concerned, size apparently doesn't matter.

As New England's go-to receiver, Welker spends most of his time running routes from the slot, where he takes a beating in the middle of the field.

"Wes really trains hard. He's one of our hardest workers; just really tireless guy," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the media Thursday. He pushes himself to the limit on a daily basis, whether it's lifting weights, practicing; he practices 100 miles an hour, trains very hard. He's very strong for his size and stature but he actually has good playing strength.

"Nutrition, all those things, he's really borderline fanatical about them. He gets the most out of everything he's got. I think it's been hard training, hard work. We all saw how he came back from the injury a couple years ago. I think that's just indicative of his overall work ethic and commitment."

The Ravens held opposing quarterbacks to a dismal passer rating of 68.8 this season. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady put up a 105.6 rating of his own.

The Patriots' offensive line hopes its AFC Championship bout with the Ravens' defense Sunday results in numbers resembling the latter.

Baltimore keeps opposing offenses off balance by give multiple looks throughout the game and doing a good job getting the proper personnel on the field for a given situation. New England will look to counter that with its hurry-up offense.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Ravens look to limit the Patriots' offense by focusing on two things -- New England's tight ends and how many opportunities Tom Brady gets to connect with them.

In their 20-13 win over the Texans, the Ravens held the ball for nearly three minutes longer than the Houston. Conversely, New England possessed the ball for nearly seven minutes longer than the Broncos in its blowout victory.

“Time of possession for us is going to be important in this game,” Harbaugh told the media Monday of Baltimore's AFC Championship bout with the Patriots Sunday. “It's going to be a big red zone game on the defensive side, on both sides really.”

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Jets have had a bunch of quarterbacks line up behind center over the last decade, but only two have done so as the supposed franchise signal-caller: Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez.

While making trips on and off Injured Reserve, Pennington got the majority of the Jets' starts from 2002 to 2007. Pennington, who spent his last three playing seasons with the Dolphins (2008-10), caught up with NewYorkJets.com to discuss his thoughts on recently-hired offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and Sanchez.

The nation watched the daunting Patriots' squad smother Tim Tebow and the Broncos last Saturday night in a 45-10 rout. The Patriots will need to be even better this week when they host the Ravens in the AFC Championship game.

New England looks to come out early, firing on all cylinders, as they've had a handful of slow starts this year. They need to successfully contain Ravens running back Ray Rice. Their defense has to eliminate the big plays. And the home team must limit its mistakes.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Brady set an NFL playoff record Saturday night with five passing touchdowns in the first half of the Patriots' AFC Divisional Round bout with the Broncos. He shared three of those scores with tight end Rob Gronkowski, whom tied an NFL record with his trifecta.

The last two postseason games for the Patriots are not examples coach Bill Belichick will be throwing up on the video screen for pregame inspiration before they face the Broncos Saturday, unless he’s looking to prove a point.

The once impervious New England team at home has lost its last two playoff games at Gillette Stadium, falling to the Ravens in 2009 before getting ousted by the rival Jets last year.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Jets coach Rex Ryan admitted to losing the "pulse" of his team in 2011.

After leading Gang Green to consecutive AFC Championship berths his first two years as head coach, Ryan's Jets crashed at the end of this season, losing their last three and finishing 8-8.

A little over a week after Jets captain Santonio Holmes was benched in the season finale for a bad attitude, anonymous players ripped quarterback Mark Sanchez in a New York Daily News story. While many Jets immediately came to Sanchez's defense, Ryan said he needs to get back to being more involved in the locker room to prevent division.

It's a done deal. Tony Sparano is the Jets' new offensive coordinator.

Sparano, who was fired from his head coaching gig with the Dolphins midway through the 2011 season, will take over Gang Green's offensive play-calling duties following the departure of Brian Schottenheimer, who informed the Jets he would not return to the team in 2012.

The saga of Stevie Johnson continues this week in Buffalo, as general manager Buddy Nix made sure to get in his two cents regarding the future of his best wide receiver.

The certainty of a contract extension for Johnson was never solidified by Nix and the front office as the season went on, and as the frequency of Johnson’s idiotic antics rose, so did the questions as to whether he would be back. Nix addressed those concerns Monday, stating that Johnson’s actions in no way will affect his chances of a new contract with the Bills, for now at least.

Monday, January 9, 2012

The Bills have all kinds of decisions to make regarding contracts this offseason, and not just for free agents. That list starts with running back Fred Jackson.

Buffalo's best player in Jackson is under contract through the 2012 season, but Jackson seeks the security of an extension before the season begins. Bills general manager Buddy Nix is on the same page.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

When Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne went down in Week 4 against the Chargers, most Miami fans threw up their hands and called it a season. And though the team did finish 6-10, the problem wasn't at quarterback.

When you're 15-1, first in the league in points per game and have amassed nearly 5,000 yards in the air, your offense is probably doing something right. That was Miami's thinking this week as the Dolphins brought in Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin to interview for their vacant head coach position.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

After being relieved of his offensive coordinator duties with the Rams, Josh McDaniels is returning to a place he knows well: Foxborough, Mass. He'll be an offensive assistant with the Patriots through the playoffs before taking over as coordinator in the 2012 season.

Before his stints in St. Louis and Denver, McDaniels was the last offensive coordinator of the Patriots, before current/leaving offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. O'Brien was formally introduced as the next head coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday.

The Jets linebacker, who has seen a decrease in playing time since joining Gang Green in 2009, was fined $10,000 by his team for flipping off a photographer in the Jets locker room, as first reported by the New York Daily News.

Fred Jackson was the NFL's leading rusher entering Week 11 before the Bills tailback went down to a season-ending injury.

At the time, Jackson was supposedly next on the list for a contract extension after quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick got his $59 million extension during the team's bye week. Jackson hopes his contract situation gets resolved in the near future, though the 30-year-old fifth-year back still has a year on his deal.

After earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Patriots earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But will the Patriots flop the way they did following this year’s regular-season bye (a 25-17 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh), or will we see something comparable to the postseason Patriots of 2004 (a 20-3 win over Peyton Manning and the Colts)?

If there’s even a sliver of hope that a player may be able to contribute for the Patriots before season’s end, head coach Bill Belichick will be patient.

And that’s probably why New England hasn’t placed Sebastian Vollmer, one of the team’s second-round draft picks in 2009, on IR yet. He’s been out since Week 12 and getting treatment, hoping to return before the end of the season, although there’s still no true timetable for his return.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Tom Brady doesn't agree with people who say he gets more penalty call help than the average quarterback.

The Patriots quarterback was asked on WEEI Tuesday if he agreed with a penalty against the Bills that negated 15 return yards from an interception Brady threw Sunday. Brady was barely touched on the play but did his best to roll down to the ground, drawing the penalty.

Question of who will be back and who won't surround the Jets this week.

One thing is certain: The "C" on players' jerseys will be a sure casualty for Gang Green.

After the Santonio Holmes debacle Sunday, Jets coach Rex Ryan decided that the Jets will no longer have designated "captains," at least while he's running the show. Holmes was one of five captains for New York this season.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Johnson, who has cost his team and his wallet on multiple occasions over the past two years, did it again Sunday. After scoring a touchdown in the Bills' blowout loss to the Patriots, the Bills wideout lifted his jersey in revealing a shirt underneath that read "Happy New Year!"

Johnson was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Bills coach Chan Gailey benched his No. 1 receiver for the rest of the game.

After falling to a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter, the Patriots scored 49 straight points to blow out the Bills by 28. New England was down, 17-0, against the Dolphins last week before scoring 27 consecutive points to win.